Language Mapping Research Articles

Discrepant expressive language lateralization in children and adolescents with epilepsy.

Neuronavigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) has emerged as a presurgical language mapping tool distinct from the widely used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We report fMRI and nTMS language‐mapping results in 19 pediatric‐epilepsy patients and compare those to definitive testing by electrical cortical stimulation, Wada test, and/or neuropsychological testing. Most discordant results occurred when fMRI found right‐hemispheric language. In those cases, when nTMS showed left‐hemispheric or bilateral language representation, left‐hemispheric language was confirmed by definitive testing. Therefore, we propose nTMS should be considered for pediatric presurgical language‐mapping when fMRI shows right‐hemispheric language, with nTMS results superseding fMRI results in those scenarios.

Functional MRI and electrical stimulation mapping for language localization: A comparative meta-analysis

ObjectiveThis systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the diagnostic validity of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) compared to electrical stimulation mapping (ESM) for pre-surgical language mapping. MethodsA structured literature search was performed and studies with electrode-level data comparing fMRI and ESM for language localization were analyzed. Outcome measures included pooled estimates of diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), sensitivity, and specificity. Sources of heterogeneity were explored with a meta-regression framework. ResultsNine studies were included in the analysis having 5–40 patients with mean age 11.3–43.4 years. Verb generation and picture naming were the most common fMRI tasks, while picture naming was the most common ESM task. Sensitivity (0.37–0.95), specificity (0.36–0.97), and DOR (1.9–44.6) for fMRI compared to ESM varied widely across studies with statistically significant heterogeneities. Pooled estimates were: sensitivity 0.71 (95% confidence interval 0.54, 0.83), specificity 0.74 (0.58, 0.85), and DOR 7.0 (3.5, 13.8), from a valid meta-analysis (area under the summary receiver-operating-curve 0.78). fMRI was noted to have higher sensitivity in studies using higher maximal ESM currents. fMRI variables could not be included in the meta-regression because of substantial methodological differences among studies. ConclusionsfMRI is moderately sensitive and moderately specific for language localization compared to ESM in well-designed studies. However, because the confidence limits for sensitivity and DOR are close to the line of no effect, and there is high unmeasured heterogeneity, fMRI cannot perhaps be used as the only modality for language localization to inform neurosurgical decisions at present.

Evaluating the concordance of functional MRI-based language lateralization and Wada testing in epilepsy patients: A single-center analysis.

For patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, surgery may be effective in controlling their disease. Surgical evaluation may involve localization of the language areas using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or Wada testing. We evaluated the accuracy of task-based fMRI versus Wada-based language lateralization in a cohort of our epilepsy patients. In a single-center, retrospective analysis, we identified patients with medically intractable epilepsy who participated in presurgical language mapping (n = 35) with fMRI and Wada testing. Demographic variables and imaging metrics were obtained. We calculated the laterality index (LI) from task-evoked fMRI activation maps across language areas during auditory and reading tasks to determine lateralization. Possible scores for LI range from -1 (strongly left-hemisphere dominant) to 1 (strongly right-hemisphere dominant). Concordance between fMRI and Wada was estimated using Cohen's Kappa coefficient. Association between the LI scores from the auditory and reading tasks was tested using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The fMRI-based laterality indices were concordant with results from Wada testing in 91.4% of patients during the reading task (κ = .55) and 96.9% of patients during the auditory task (κ = .79). The mean LIs for the reading and auditory tasks were -0.52 ± 0.43 and -0.68 ± 0.42, respectively. The LI scores for the language and reading tasks were strongly correlated, r(30) = 0.57 (p = 0.001). Our findings suggest that fMRI is generally an accurate, low-risk alternative to Wada testing for language lateralization. However, when fMRI indicates atypical language lateralization (e.g., bilateral dominance), patients may benefit from subsequent Wada testing or intraoperative language mapping.

Continuous subcortical language mapping in awake glioma surgery.

Repetitive monopolar short-train stimulation (STS) delivered from a suction probe enables continuous mapping and distance assessment of corticospinal tracts during asleep glioma resection. In this study, we explored this stimulation technique in awake glioma surgery. Fourteen patients with glioma involving language-related tracts were prospectively included. Continuous (3-Hz) cathodal monopolar STS (five pulses, 250 Hz) was delivered via the tip of a suction probe throughout tumor resection while testing language performance. At 70 subcortical locations, surgery was paused to deliver STS in a steady suction probe position. Monopolar STS influence on language performance at different subcortical locations was separated into three groups. Group 1 represented locations where STS did not produce language disturbance. Groups 2 and 3 represented subcortical locations where STS produced language interference at different threshold intensities (≥7.5 and ≤5 mA, respectively). For validation, bipolar Penfield stimulation (PS; 60 Hz for 3 s) was used as a “gold standard” comparison method to detect close proximity to language-related tracts and classified as positive or negative regarding language interference. There was no language interference from STS in 28 locations (Group 1), and PS was negative for all sites. In Group 2 (STS threshold ≥ 7.5 mA; median, 10 mA), there was language interference at 18 locations, and PS (median, 4 mA) was positive in only one location. In Group 3 (STS threshold ≤ 5 mA; median, 5 mA), there was language interference at 24 locations, and positive PS (median 4 mA) was significantly (p < 0.01) more common (15 out of 24 locations) compared with Groups 1 and 2. Despite the continuous stimulation throughout tumor resection, there were no seizures in any of the patients. In five patients, temporary current spread to the facial nerve was observed. We conclude that continuous subcortical STS is feasibly also in awake glioma surgery and that no language interference from STS or interference at ≥7.5 mA seems to indicate safe distance to language tracts as judged by PS comparisons. STS language interference at STS ≤ 5 mA was not consistently confirmed by PS, which needs to be addressed.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF KONJO DIALECT AND LAKIUNG DIALECT OF MAKASSAR LANGUAGE: A DIALECTOLOGICAL APPROACH

This study discusses the relationship, namely the differences and similarities between the Lakiung (LK) dialect and the Konjo (KJ) dialect Makassar language at the phonological and lexical level with a dialectological approach. This study was conducted to find phonological and lexical differences as well as inventories of the status of the language and dialect map in the Konjo dialect and the Lakiung dialect of the Makassar language. This research uses quantitative and qualitative methods. Data collection in this study used the capable method and the listening method. The source of the research data is field data and literature data obtained through research instruments in the form of basic vocabularies of Morrish Swadesh. The data were analyzed quantitatively (dialectometry) and qualitatively. The results of the analysis showed that in the calculation of the phonological dialectometry scale on fifteen meaning fields there were 90 different glosses with a percentage of 25.86%. It can be categorized as a language difference. The lexical dialectometry scale shows a difference of 95 glosses with a percentage of 27.29%. It is included in the category of no difference in language and dialect. Furthermore, the results of the dialectometry calculation of the overall difference were 185 glosses with a percentage of 53.16%. So the Lakiung dialect and the Konjo dialect are included in the category of dialect differences. The vocal phonemes in the Lakiung dialect and the Konjo dialect are the same, that is, there are five vocal phonemes each, namely /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, and /o/. The consonant phonemes in the Konjo dialect and the Lakiung dialect are also the same, that is, both have eighteen consonants, namely /k/, /ɡ/, /ŋ/, /p/, /b/, /m/, /ʦ/, /ʤ/, /ɲ/, /t/, /d/, /n/, /j/, /r/, /l/, /w/, /s, and /h/.

Comparison between inferior frontal gyrus intrinsic connectivity network and verb-generation task fMRI network for presurgical language mapping in healthy controls and in glioma patients.

Task-based functional MRI (tb-fMRI) represents an extremely valuable approach for the identification of language eloquent regions for presurgical mapping in patients with brain tumors. However, its routinely application is limited by patient-related factors, such as cognitive disability and difficulty in coping with long-time acquisitions, and by technical factors, such as lack of equipment availability for stimuli delivery. Resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) instead, allows the identification of distinct language networks in a 10-min acquisition without the need of performing active tasks and using specific equipment. Therefore, to test the feasibility of rs-fMRI as a preoperative mapping tool, we reconstructed a lexico-semantic intrinsic connectivity network (ICN) in healthy controls (HC) and in a case series of patients with gliomas and compared the organization of this language network with the one derived from tb-fMRI in the patient's group. We studied three patients with extra-frontal gliomas who underwent functional mapping with auditory verb-generation (AVG) task and rs-fMRI with a seed in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). First, we identified the functional connected areas to the IFG in HC. We qualitatively compared these areas with those that showed functional activation in AVG task derived from Neurosynth meta-analysis. Last, in each patient we performed single-subject analyses both for rs- and tb-fMRI, and we evaluated the spatial overlap between the two approaches. In HC, the IFG-ICN network showed a predominant left fronto-temporal functional connectivity in regions overlapping with the AVG network derived from a meta-analysis. In two patients, rs- and tb-fMRI showed comparable patterns of activation in left fronto-temporal regions, with different levels of contralateral activations. The third patient could not accomplish the AVG task and thus it was not possible to make any comparison with the ICN. However, in this patient, task-free approach disclosed a consistent network of fronto-temporal regions as in HC, and additional parietal regions. Our preliminary findings support the value of rs-fMRI approach for presurgical mapping, particularly for identifying left fronto-temporal core language-related areas in glioma patients. In a preoperative setting, rs-fMRI approach could represent a powerful tool for the identification of eloquent language areas, especially in patients with language or cognitive impairments.

Language Mapping using tEEG and EEG Data with Convolutional Neural Networks.

Tripolar electroencephalography (tEEG) has been found to have significantly better signal-to-noise ratio, spatial resolution, mutual information, and high-frequencies compared to EEG. This paper analyzes the tEEG signals acquired simultaneously with the EEG signals and compares their ability to map language to left and right hemispheres using convolutional neural networks (CNNs). The results show that while the time-domain features of tEEG and EEG signals lead to comparable functional mapping, the frequency domain features are significantly different. The left and right hemisphere classification performances using tEEG are equivalent in time and frequency domains. However, frequency domain classification for EEG results in less accuracy. Clinical Relevance- This technique could quickly, and noninvasively, guide clinicians about language dominance when preparing for resective surgery.

Techniques of Designing Modern Linguistics Mapping

This study focused on the modern fundamental techniques for designing and then achieving linguistics maps. In this vein, language maps provide a variety of illustrations of linguistic and cultural diversity. However, language mapping is not a new endeavor. The fundamental nature of cartography has changed with the evolving technologies. Accordingly, technology has provided cartographers with new methods for visualizing linguistic information. Thus, this paper used the qualitative approach to describe principles for constructing modern linguistics maps using Geographic Information System (GIS).

Landslide Susceptibility Assessment by Using Convolutional Neural Network

This study performs a GIS-based landslide susceptibility assessment using a convolutional neural network, CNN, in a study area of the Gorzineh-khil region, northeastern Iran. For this assessment, a 15-layered CNN was programmed in the Python high-level language for susceptibility mapping. In this regard, as far as the landside triggering factors are concerned, it was concluded that the geomorphologic/topographic parameters (i.e., slope curvature, topographical elevation, slope aspect, and weathering) and water condition parameters (hydrological gradient, drainage pattern, and flow gradient) are the main triggering factors. These factors provided the landside dataset, which was input to the CNN. We used 80% of the dataset for training and the remaining 20% for testing to prepare the landslide susceptibility map of the study area. In order to cross-validate the resulting map, a loss function, and common classifiers were considered: support vector machines, SVM, k-nearest neighbor, k-NN, and decision tree, DT. An evaluation of the results of the susceptibility assessment revealed that the CNN led the other classes in terms of 79.0% accuracy, 73.0% precision, 75.0% recall, and 77.0% f1-score, and, hence, provided better accuracy and the least computational error when compared to the other models.

Best practices for spatial language data harmonization, sharing and map creation-A case study of Uralic.

Despite remarkable progress in digital linguistics, extensive databases of geographical language distributions are missing. This hampers both studies on language spatiality and public outreach of language diversity. We present best practices for creating and sharing digital spatial language data by collecting and harmonizing Uralic language distributions as case study. Language distribution studies have utilized various methodologies, and the results are often available as printed maps or written descriptions. In order to analyze language spatiality, the information must be digitized into geospatial data, which contains location, time and other parameters. When compiled and harmonized, this data can be used to study changes in languages' distribution, and combined with, for example, population and environmental data. We also utilized the knowledge of language experts to adjust previous and new information of language distributions into state-of-the-art maps. The extensive database, including the distribution datasets and detailed map visualizations of the Uralic languages are introduced alongside this article, and they are freely available.

P.098 Usefulness of language mapping during cortical stimulation for presurgical planning in Stereo-encephalograph

Background: Background: Language determination is a pivotal part of presurgical investigations. Presurgical cortical stimulation (CS) with language mapping (LM) in patients with intracranial recordings (SEEG) is a growing practice in some Comprehensive Epilepsy Centers. Methods: Methods: This retrospective, single center study included patients implanted with SEEG that underwent CS for LM in our Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. We describe frequencies, demographic characteristics of these patients and whether or not CS with LM was useful. Results: Results: From January 2015 to June2021, a total of 177 patients were implanted with SEEG and analyzed. 95 patients had CS and 44 of these had CS with LM. The mean age was 33 (ranging from 15-70). During LM, anomia was induced in 26 (58%), speech arrest in 22 (49%), paraphasic errors in 13 (29%), and hesitation in 9 (20%). LM results were recorded as influencing surgical decision in 7 (16%) patients, 4 (9%) did not undergo surgery due to expected language deficits and 3 (7%) proceeded with surgery due to an acceptable risk of language deficit. Conclusions: Conclusions: Cortical stimulation language mapping is useful for decision-making in presurgical evaluation and should be encouraged whenever involvement of language is suspected when determining the epileptogenic zone.

Awake brain surgery for language mapping in pediatric patients: a single-center experience.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, benefit, and safety of awake brain surgery (ABS) and intraoperative language mapping in children and adolescents with structural epilepsies. Whereas ABS is an established method to monitor language function in adults intraoperatively, reports of ABS in children are scarce. A retrospective chart review of pediatric patients ≤ 18 years of age who underwent ABS and cortical language mapping for supratentorial tumors and nontumoral epileptogenic lesions between 2008 and 2019 was conducted. The authors evaluated the global intellectual and specific language performance by using detailed neuropsychological testing, the patient's intraoperative compliance, results of intraoperative language mapping assisted by electrocorticography (ECoG), and postsurgical language development and seizure outcomes. Descriptive statistics were used for this study, with a statistical significance of p < 0.05. Eleven children (7 boys) with a median age of 13 years (range 10-18 years) underwent ABS for a lesion in close vicinity to cortical language areas as defined by structural and functional MRI (left hemisphere in 9 children, right hemisphere in 2). Patients were neurologically intact but experiencing seizures; these were refractory to therapy in 9 patients. Compliance during the awake phase was high in 10 patients and low in 1 patient. Cortical mapping identified eloquent language areas in 6/10 (60%) patients and was concordant in 3/8 (37.5%), discordant in 3/8 (37.5%), and unclear in 2/8 (25%) patients compared to preoperative functional MRI. Stimulation-induced seizures occurred in 2 patients and could be interrupted easily. ECoG revealed that afterdischarge potentials (ADP) were involved in 5/9 (56%) patients with speech disturbances during stimulation. None of these patients harbored postoperative language dysfunction. Gross-total resection was achieved in 10/11 (91%) patients, and all were seizure free after a median follow-up of 4.3 years. Neuropsychological testing using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children and the verbal learning and memory test showed an overall nonsignificant trend toward an immediate postoperative deterioration followed by an improvement to above preoperative levels after 1 year. ABS is a valuable technique in selected pediatric patients with lesions in language areas. An interdisciplinary approach, careful patient selection, extensive preoperative training of patients, and interpretation of intraoperative ADP are pivotal to a successful surgery.

The role of cartographic culture in the development of cognitive, scientific, communicative and creative human activity

The article is devoted to the study of the role of cartographic culture in the development of cognitive, scientific, communicative and creative human activity. Geographical maps are considered as a phenomenon of world culture and their significant role in many spheres of human life and activity is highlighted. The concept of cartographic culture is revealed. The research is based on literary, cartographic sources, materials of museum expositions and modern cartographic exhibitions, a collection of maps of the authors' personal archive, significant experience in teaching cartographic and geographical disciplines at university and school. The methods of visual and system-structural analysis, comparison, historical and logical are used in the research. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the systematization and generalization of multiple diverse information characterizing the manifestations of cartographic culture, the conditions of its formation, the components of this culture, in proving by examples the importance of cartographic culture in the life of a modern person. The main conclusions of the study: cartographic culture encompasses the ability of a person to understand, know, read maps; have a developed cartographic thinking and a formed cartographic worldview; an idea of the richness and diversity of cartographic works; the ability to create at least at an elementary level thematic cartographic schemes, perceive and recreate cartographic images. The main component of cartographic culture is mastering the language of geographical maps as one of the most important means of communication, having great cognitive, ideological, ideological significance, having visibility, accessibility, information capacity, understandable at the international level.

An examination of translated content on NCI-designated cancer websites with a focus on breast and colorectal cancer.

6576 Background: One unforeseen implication of the pandemic has been a greater reliance on health information sharing via the Internet. This is complicated by the fact that many healthcare websites and online resources fail to consider Limited English Proficiency (LEP) when designing websites that relay essential health information. We aimed to quantify the extent to which NCI-Designated Cancer Center websites provide language accessibility. Methods: Over the course of 2021, we performed a cross-sectional review of translation services and available languages on NCI-Designated Cancer Center websites. This study was particularly focused on both breast cancer and colorectal cancer portions of these websites. The primary out-comes were as follows: option of translated content, presence of more than one language, and method by which the translation was performed (written text vs. Google scholar). We referred to the 2015 US language map for the percentage of LEP by state. Results: Of the 71 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers, 56 (78.9%) were without translation, and 15 (21.1%) used either manual translation or displayed a link for Google translate. Of the 15 centers who offered translated content on their website, 15/15 (100%) had more than one language available in the drop down list. Spanish (100%) was the most common language available. In terms of Limited English Proficiency, 25 of 71 (35.21%) NCI-Designated Cancer Centers were located in states where greater than 10% of the population is defined as having LEP, and yet, only 5 of these centers (20.0%) had languages other than English featured. We observed no significant relationship between the state LEP percentile and the number of NCI-Designated Cancer Centers offering website translation services within that state. Additionally, no appreciable differences in language availability were observed between breast cancer and colorectal cancer. Conclusions: Overall, only a fraction of NCI-Designated Cancer Centers actually translate the content of their websites. In New York for example, despite having the highest percentage of residents with LEP at 19.345%, only one of ten NCI-Designated Cancer Centers within the state had a website with language translation. We believe this represents a missed opportunity as language inaccessibility may contribute to delays in care for non-English speaking patients, particularly in a post pandemic world, further exacerbating health care disparities among patient populations.

Standardization of presurgical language fMRI in Greek population: Mapping of six critical regions.

BackgroundMapping the language system has been crucial in presurgical evaluation especially when the area to be resected is near relevant eloquent cortex. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) proved to be a noninvasive alternative of Wada test that can account not only for language lateralization but also for localization when appropriate tasks and MRI sequences are being used. The tasks utilized during the fMRI acquisition are playing a crucial role as to which areas will be activated. Recent studies demonstrated that key language regions exist outside the classical model of “Wernicke–Lichtheim–Geschwind,” but sensitive tasks must take place in order to be revealed. On top of that, the tasks should be in mother tongue for appropriate language mapping to be possible.MethodsFor that reason, in this study, we adopted an English protocol that can reveal six language critical regions even in clinical setups and we translated it into Greek to prove its efficacy in Greek population. Twenty healthy right‐handed volunteers were recruited and performed the fMRI acquisition in a standardized manner.ResultsResults demonstrated that all six language critical regions were activated in all subjects as well as the group mean map. Furthermore, activations were found in the thalamus, the caudate, and the contralateral cerebellum.ConclusionIn this study, we standardized an fMRI protocol in Greek and proved that it can reliably activate six language critical regions. We have validated its efficacy for presurgical language mapping in Greek patients capable to be adopted in clinical setup.

Generation of FHIR-Based International Patient Summaries from ELGA Data.

Patient summaries grant healthcare providers a concise overview of a patient's status. This paper showcases to which degree International Patient Summaries (IPS) represented in HL7 FHIR format can be generated using data from the nationwide Austrian Electronic Health Record system ELGA. A solution is presented which enables the automated software-assembled generation of an IPS using the FHIR Mapping Language. The generated document successfully validates against the IPS profiles. Our results show that all required IPS sections can be supplied from ELGA data.

Motor Mapping of the Brain: Taniguchi Versus Penfield Method.

Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) techniques continue to prove useful as an adjunct in select surgeries for reducing the incidence of various postoperative deficits in motor function through the monitoring of motor evoked potentials (MEPs). The Penfield and Taniguchi methods of direct electrical cortical stimulation (DECS) stand in contrast to each other. Penfield’s method uses lower-frequency stimulation over a longer duration, while Taniguchi’s method uses a relatively higher frequency over a short duration. DECS motor mapping is considered suitable for tumor resections, aneurysm surgeries, arteriovenous malformation, and epilepsy surgeries. While subcortical motor mapping works efficiently with both methods, it aligns with Taniguchi’s method more effectively. Taniguchi’s method has a lower risk of seizures relative to Penfield’s method. While only cortical neurons are excited in Penfield’s stimulation technique, Taniguchi’s technique excites the whole corticospinal tract (CST), so it can be used for mapping in a stand-alone fashion. The Penfield technique remains the method of choice for language mapping. In all motor mapping, Train-of-Four (TOF) stimulation during the surgical procedure ensures that the patient’s muscles are not unduly relaxed.

Intraoperative Brain Mapping in Multilingual Patients: What Do We Know and Where Are We Going?

In this review, we evaluate the knowledge gained so far about the neural bases of multilingual language processing obtained mainly through imaging and electrical stimulation mapping (ESM). We attempt to answer some key questions about multilingualism in the light of recent literature evidence, such as the degree of anatomical–functional integration of two or more languages in a multilingual brain, how the age of L2-acquisition affects language organization in the human brain, or how the brain controls more than one language. Finally, we highlight the future trends in multilingual language mapping.

ForBackBench

The problems of Data Integration/Exchange (DE) and Ontology Based Data Access (OBDA) have been extensively studied across different communities. The underlying problem is common: using a number of differently structured data-sources mapped to a mediating schema/ontology/knowledge-graph, answer a query posed on the latter. In DE, forward-chaining algorithms, collectively known as the chase, transform source data to a new materialised instance that satisfies the ontology and can be directly queried. In OBDA, backward-chaining algorithms rewrite the query over the source schema, taking the ontology into account, in order to execute the rewriting directly on the sources. These two reasoning approaches have seen an individual rise in algorithms, practical implementations, and benchmarks. However, there has not been a principled methodology to compare solutions across both areas. In this paper we provide an original methodology and a benchmark infrastructure - a set of test scenarios, generator and translator tools, and an experimental infrastructure - to allow the translation and execution of a DE/OBDA scenario across areas and among different chase and query-rewriting systems. In the process, we also present a syntactic restriction of linear Tuple Generating Dependencies that precisely captures DL-Lite R , a correspondence previously uninvestigated. We perform cross-approach experiments under a wide range of assumptions, such as the use of different source-to-target mapping languages, shedding light to the interplay between forward-and backward-chaining. Our preliminary results show that, indeed, chase can compete and might overcome query rewriting even in the face of large data especially for complex mapping languages.

A New Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Localizer for Preoperative Language Mapping Using a Sentence Completion Task: Validity, Choice of Baseline Condition, and Test-Retest Reliability.

To avoid post-neurosurgical language deficits, intraoperative mapping of the language function in the brain can be complemented with preoperative mapping with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The validity of an fMRI “language localizer” paradigm crucially depends on the choice of an optimal language task and baseline condition. This study presents a new fMRI “language localizer” in Russian using overt sentence completion, a task that comprehensively engages the language function by involving both production and comprehension at the word and sentence level. The paradigm was validated in 18 neurologically healthy volunteers who participated in two scanning sessions, for estimating test–retest reliability. For the first time, two baseline conditions for the sentence completion task were compared. At the group level, the paradigm significantly activated both anterior and posterior language-related regions. Individual-level analysis showed that activation was elicited most consistently in the inferior frontal regions, followed by posterior temporal regions and the angular gyrus. Test–retest reliability of activation location, as measured by Dice coefficients, was moderate and thus comparable to previous studies. Test–retest reliability was higher in the frontal than temporo-parietal region and with the most liberal statistical thresholding compared to two more conservative thresholding methods. Lateralization indices were expectedly left-hemispheric, with greater lateralization in the frontal than temporo-parietal region, and showed moderate test-retest reliability. Finally, the pseudoword baseline elicited more extensive and more reliable activation, although the syllable baseline appears more feasible for future clinical use. Overall, the study demonstrated the validity and reliability of the sentence completion task for mapping the language function in the brain. The paradigm needs further validation in a clinical sample of neurosurgical patients. Additionally, the study contributes to general evidence on test–retest reliability of fMRI.